Antibodies: Structure And

Function
 Antibody Structure
Antibodies Are Made Up Of:
2 Light Chains (identical) ~25 KDa
2 Heavy Chains (identical) ~50 KDa
Each Light Chain Bound To Heavy Chain By Disulfide (H-
L)
Heavy Chain Bound to Heavy Chain (H-H)
First 100 a/a Of Amino Terminal Vary of Both H and L Chain
Are Variable
Referred To As VL , VH, CH And CL
CDR (Complementarity Determining Regions) Are What
Bind Ag
Remaining Regions Are Very Similar Within Same Class
 Antibody Structure
Repeating Domains of ~110 a/a
Intrachain disulfide bonds within each domain
Heavy chains
1 VH and either 3 or 4 CH (CH1, CH2, CH3, CH4)
Light chains
1 VL and 1 CL
Hinge Region
Rich in proline residues (flexible)
Hinge found in IgG, IgA and IgD
Proline residues are target for proteolytic digestion (papain and
pepsin)
Rich in cysteine residues (disulfide bonds)
IgM and IgE lack hinge region
They instead have extra CH4 Domain
Enzymatic Digestion Of Antibodies
Digestion With Papain Yields
3 Fragments
2 identical Fab and 1 Fc
Fab Because Fragment That is Antigen Binding
Fc Because Found To Crystallize In Cold Storage
Pepsin Digestion
F(ab`)2
No Fc Recovery, Digested Entirely
Mercaptoethanol Reduction (Eliminates Disulfide
Bonds) And Alkylation Showed
 Sequencing Of Heavy Chains

Sequencing Of Several Immunoglobulins Revealed

100-110 Amino Terminus, Highly Variable (V)
Five Basic Sequence Patterns
,, , ,
IgA, IgG, IgD, IgE and IgM
The Above Classes Are Called Isotype
Each class can have either or light chains
Minor Differences Led To Sub-classes For IgA and IgG
IgA1, IgGA2 and IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4
CDR Are Hypevariable
 Monoclonal Antibodies
Immunize Animal With Antigen
Multiple Clones Are Generated, Good For In Vivo
For Clinical Diagnosis, Research, One Clone That
Reacts To Single Epitope Is Preferred
Solution By Kohler and Milstein
Fuse A Myeloma Cell (Cancerous) With A Normal
Plasma Cells
Resulting Clones Can Be Cultured Indefinitely
Produces An Antibody Recognizing One Epitope
 B-Cell Receptor

BCR Is An Antibody On Surface Of Cell

mIg
Very Short Cytoplasmic Tail, Cannot
Transduce Signal
Heterodimeric Molecule Ig-/Ig-
Transduces (long cytoplasmic tail)
Fc Receptors (FcR)
 Fc Receptors (FcR) Functions

To Transport Abs Across Membranes

Secretion of IgA Across Epithelium into lumen
Transport of maternal Abs Across Placenta (IgG)
Many Cell Types Use FcR
Ex. Mast Cells, Macrophages, Neutrophils, B, T, NK
Opsonization, ADCC
Poly IgR
Transport of IgA across epithelium
FcRN
Transport of maternal IgG to fetus
Antibody Classes And Biological Activities

IgG
Most abundant immunoglobin 80% of serum Ig
~10mg/mL
IgG1,2,3,4 (decreasing serum concentration)
IgG1, IgG3 and IgG4 cross placenta
IgG3 Most effective complement activator
IgG1 and IgG3 High affinity for FcR on
phagocytic cells, good for opsonization
 Antibody Classes And Biological
Activities

IgM
5-10% of serum immunoglobulin
1.5mg/mL
mIgM (also IgD) expressed on B-cells as BCR
Pentameric version is secreted
First Ig of primary immune response
High valence Ig (10 theoretical), 5 empirical
More efficient than IgG in complement activation
 Antibody Classes And Biological
Activities
IgA
10-15% of serum IgG
Predominant Ig in secretions
Milk, saliva, tears, mucus
5-15 g of IgA released in secretions!!!!
Serum mainly monomeric, polymers possible
not common though
Secretions, as dimer or tetramer+J-chain
polyptetide+secretory component (Poly IgR)
IgA Antibody Transport Across Cell
(Transcytosis)
 Antibody Classes And Biological
Activities
IgE
Very low serum concentration, 0.3g/mL
Participate in immediate hypersensitivities
reations. Ex. Asthma, anaphylaxis, hives
Binds Mast Cells and Blood Basophils thru
FcR
Binding causes degranulation (Histamine
Release)
 Antibody Classes And Biological
Activities

IgD
Expressed on B-cell Surface
IgM and IgD, Expressed on B-cell Surface
We Do Not Know Any Other Biological
Effector Activity
Low serum concentrations, ~30g/mL
Cross-Linkage of Bound IgE Antibody
With Allergen Causes
 Antibodies Act As Immunogens
Antigenic Determinants on Abs Fall in 3
Categories
Isotypic
Allotypic
Idiotypic
Isotypic
Constant Region Of Ab
If you inject Ab in a different species Anti-
Isotype is generated
If within same species, No Anti-isotype
 Antibodies Act As Immunogens
Allotype
Even though same isotypes within one species
small differences (1-4 a/a) arise in different
individuals (form of polymorphism)
If injected with such Ab you generate anti-
allotype Ab
Ex. During pregnancy
Blood transfusion
 Antibodies Act As Immunogens
Idiotype
Unique VH AND VL binds antigen but can also behave
as antigenic determinant
If you inject a monoclonal antibody into a
genetically identical recipient then anti-idiotypic
antibodies are generated
No anti-isotypic and no anti-allotypic Abs will be
generated
 Monoclonal Antibody
Applications
Diagnostic Tests
Abs are capable to detect tiny amouns (pg/mL) of molecules
Ex. Pregnancy hormones
Diagnostic Imaging
mAbs that recognize tumor antigens are radiolabeled with
iodine I-131
Immunotoxins
mAbs conjugated with toxins
mAbs To Clear Pathogens
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